Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is currently being considered as a potential running mate for Kamala Harris in the 2024 Democratic ticket. However, his decision to call in the National Guard during the protests against police brutality in 2020 has drawn criticism. Now, Minnesota police are urging Walz to remove reform prosecutor Mary Moriarty from police use of force cases.
The push against Moriarty is not unique to Minnesota. Across the country, critics of criminal justice reform have been attempting to restrict the authority of prosecutors who advocate for reform. Between 2017 and early 2023, over 37 bills were introduced in 17 states to remove or limit the power of reform prosecutors. This number has since grown to more than 53 measures in 26 states.
In a letter to Walz, the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association expressed concerns about Moriarty’s handling of use-of-force cases, citing impartiality and bias against law enforcement. They suggested that Attorney General Keith Ellison could handle these cases with proper funding. Ellison, who was once an ally of Moriarty’s, removed a case from her office last year when she declined to charge two teenage brothers accused of murder as adults.
Critics of Moriarty in Minneapolis have been pushing for her removal from certain cases and from office since the beginning of her term in January 2023. Last week, the MPPOA filed an ethics complaint against Moriarty’s office for her handling of murder charges against a state trooper who killed a Black man during a traffic stop. Moriarty’s office dropped the charges in June, stating that the trooper used lawful force and that they couldn’t disprove his defense.
Earlier this year, two Minnesota police unions also called for Moriarty’s removal from the case. Republican members of Congress from Minnesota called for an investigation into Moriarty, with one even calling for her resignation. However, Governor Walz, the MPPOA, and Moriarty’s office have not yet responded to these requests for comment.
Critics of the police union’s actions argue that they are attempting to prevent accountability for law enforcement accused of misconduct. They believe that Governor Walz’s behavior in the Ricky Cobb II case, where he sided with the union, was shameful and undermined police accountability. They call on Walz to denounce the request to remove Moriarty and to stop pandering to the right on criminal justice issues.
Moriarty responded to the MPPOA’s ethics complaint by criticizing the police union for lobbying against efforts to hold police accountable and opposing regulations that would ban law enforcement from being involved in white supremacist groups. The police union objected to Moriarty’s critiques, calling them divisive and accusing her of believing that all peace officers are tied to white supremacist organizations.
It is worth noting that Governor Walz is not the only vice presidential candidate with a complicated relationship with the criminal justice reform movement. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, another potential pick for Harris, has also supported efforts to strip Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner of his authority to prosecute certain crimes. Shapiro’s office later stated that he would not use the measure to act unilaterally or go around Krasner, but local activists pressured him into supporting a repeal of the bill.
In conclusion, the pressure on Governor Walz to remove reform prosecutor Mary Moriarty from police use of force cases highlights the ongoing debate within the Democratic Party over criminal justice reform. Critics of reform have been attempting to restrict the authority of prosecutors who advocate for reform across the country. The response to these efforts varies among different politicians, with some supporting the push for reform and others aligning themselves with law enforcement.
